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Not happy with half dome hat

Submitted by OKknitguy on Fri, 2006-11-17 13:40

I finished my first halfdome stocking cap last night. I'm just not happy with how it turned out. I did it on circulars. I used close to the type of yarn requested, but I knit so loose, it just didn't turn out well. I made it too big, so it doesn't hug the head, also that yarn just isn't stretchy. I might try another, but definitely go smaller and I think I'll just use cascade. I can also knit tighter with two strands. I'll give that a shot. If anyone has any other tips for the half dome let me know. Perhaps I should learn how to english and knit that way in just certain situations so I can get tighter and control my tension better. :-(

Comments

I had the same problem as you, where my first hat was too big. I also am a loose knitter. When doing the first hat, I dropped down one needle size and it was still too big. So what I did for the others is to drop down another needles size (so I used #1 and #3 circular needles) AND I knitted the child-size pattern (for adults to wear.) By the way, I used the yarn specified in the pattern. So for me the pattern was kind of a pain in the a.. but the raglan decreases look great. As I mentioned, I started the hat using circulars, then when the hat got too small for circs, I switched to double points. I gave one to a bald friend of mine and he loved the feel of the yarn on his head. He said other hats usually make his head itch.

All is not lost. After you have determined how much it is oversized, toss it into a sink of hot water and squeeze it several times to get it soaked through. Then work it with your hands for about30 seconds. Pull it out. Sqeeze out the water. Put in under the faucet of cold water to re-saturate it. Squeeze out the water again and roll up in a towel and walk on it to get out as much of the water as possible then let it dry out in the open. I would, after a few hours, try it on to see how the fit is going. If it feels like it's going to be ok let it finish drying. If you think it's going to be a bit too small, block it with either your head or your hands; I'd do this once an hour until it's dry.

If, in the worst case scenerio, it really shrinks up and you can't wear it, it'll double beautifully as a teapot cozy. OR: fill it with catnip and sew it shut for the cat to play with.